In 1992 the first Hereditary Cancer Center in Poland has been organized in Szczecin.
Design: One of its goals is application of appropriate management in families with hereditary ovarian cancer. The aims of our program include studies of: incidence, clinical characterization, DNA diagnostic tests and efficiency of screening for early detection of hereditary ovarian tumors in North-West Poland.
Material: Our program includes 234 families with 258 cases of ovarian cancers.
Results: Site-specific familial aggregation of ovarian cancer was diagnosed in 16 (6.84%) families, breast-ovarian cancer syndrome in 27 (11.54%), Lynch II syndrome in 5 (2.14%) families, undefined cancer family aggregation in 12 (5.13%) families, sporadic ovarian cancers diagnosed age of 44 in 56 (23.93%) families and other sporadic ovarian cancers in 118 (50.4%). In 17 patients with ovarian cancer from families with breast-ovarian cancer syndrome constitutional BRCA-1 gene mutations were studied by sequencing DNA on automated sequencer of PCR products for all 24 exons. In 1 patient constitutional mutation in exone 11 was detected. We found also multiply polymorphic changes. 124 women-members of 116 families with diagnosed hereditary predisposition for ovarian cancer have been studied for asymptomatic tumors by intravaginal USG and evaluation of CA 125 marker every 6 month beginning from 20-25 years of age. Up to now we found 5 cases of benign serous cystadenomas, 3 cases of cystadenomas of borderline malignancy and 1 cases of serous cystadenocarcinoma.
Conclusions: It seems, that particular surveillance program in women from families with hereditary cancers can be the effective way of detection of early ovarian tumors. Clinical characterization of hereditary ovarian cancers in North-West Poland and other countries is similar.